Flowers Foods (NYSE:FLO) Share Price Crosses Below 50 Day Moving Average on Disappointing Earnings

Key Points

• Flowers Foods missed quarterly expectations: EPS was $0.10 versus the $0.15 consensus, while revenue of $1.17 billion fell 4.7% year over year and slightly short of estimates.
• The company cut its FY2026 EPS outlook to $0.63–$0.68, below the $0.78 analyst consensus. Shares fell below their 50-day moving average, trading as low as $5.93.
• Flowers Foods pays an annualized dividend of $0.50 per share, yielding about 8.4%, but its reported payout ratio is 192.31%.

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO - Get Free Report) crossed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $6.10 and traded as low as $5.93. Flowers Foods shares last traded at $5.9650, with a volume of 12,472,903 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. Flowers Foods had a net margin of 1.06% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The business's revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.23 EPS. Flowers Foods has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.630-0.680 EPS.

Flowers Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.1250 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. Flowers Foods's payout ratio is presently 192.31%.

Flowers Foods News Roundup

Investors following FLO have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Operating cash flow increased 44.1% year over year to $78.3 million, while cash and cash equivalents rose to $72.2 million. These improvements were a partial offset to weaker earnings. Flowers Foods Q3 financial results
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter EPS was $0.10 versus analysts’ $0.15 estimate and $0.23 a year earlier. Revenue of $1.17 billion was slightly below expectations and declined 4.7% year over year; net income fell 63.6%. Flowers Foods misses Q3 estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Flowers Foods cut its FY2026 EPS guidance to $0.63–$0.68, below the $0.78 consensus estimate. Its revenue outlook of $5.0–$5.1 billion also falls short of the $5.1 billion consensus midpoint, adding to concerns about the company’s near-term performance. Flowers Foods cuts FY2026 outlook

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on FLO shares. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on shares of Flowers Foods from $6.50 to $5.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Flowers Foods from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Flowers Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings lowered Flowers Foods from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Stephens decreased their price objective on Flowers Foods from $6.00 to $5.50 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $6.70.

Insider Transactions at Flowers Foods

In other news, insider Cindy Cox sold 4,400 shares of Flowers Foods stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.89, for a total transaction of $25,916.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $241,666.70. This trade represents a 9.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 7.23% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Flowers Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its holdings in Flowers Foods by 542.5% during the first quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 3,386 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 2,859 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in Flowers Foods by 200.0% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,663 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 2,442 shares in the last quarter. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Flowers Foods in the second quarter worth about $30,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 232.5% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,319 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 3,020 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Flowers Foods by 68.2% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 4,436 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,799 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.45% of the company's stock.

Flowers Foods Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company's 50-day moving average price is $6.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.84. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.94 and a beta of 0.38.

About Flowers Foods

Flowers Foods, Inc. is a U.S. bakery company that produces and markets packaged breads, buns, rolls, snack cakes and other baked goods. Its products are sold under brands including Nature's Own, Dave's Killer Bread, Wonder, Tastykake, Canyon Bakehouse and Mrs. Freshley's. Founded in 1919 in Thomasville, Georgia, the company has grown from a local bakery into a national producer of baked goods. Flowers Foods serves consumers across the United States through grocery stores and other retail channels, using a mix of direct-store delivery and warehouse distribution.

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